Bioethical Decisions in Neonatal Intensive Care: Neonatologists’ Self-Reported Practices in Greek NICUs

Maria Dagla, Vasiliki Petousi and Antonios Poulios
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Maria Dagla: Department of Midwifery, University of West Attica, 122 41 Athens, Greece
Vasiliki Petousi: Department of Sociology, University of Crete, 741 00 Rethymno, Greece
Antonios Poulios: Department of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 157 72 Athens, Greece

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: This study presents, for the first time, empirical data on practices regarding bioethical decision-making in treatment of preterm and ill newborns in Greece. The aim of the study was to: (a) record self-reported practices and involvement of Greek physicians in decisions of withholding and withdrawing neonatal intensive care, and (b) explore the implication of cultural, ethical, and professional parameters in decision-making. Methods: 71 physicians, employed fulltime in all public Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) (n = 17) in Greece, completed an anonymous questionnaire between May 2009 and May 2011. Results: One-third of the physicians in our sample admitted that they have, at least once in the past, decided the limitation of intensive care of a newborn close to death (37.7%) and/or a newborn with unfavorable neurological prognosis (30.8%). The higher the physicians’ support towards the value of quality of human life, the more probable it was that they had taken a decision to withhold or withdraw neonatal intensive care ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our research shows that Greek NICU physicians report considerably lower levels of ethical decision-making regarding preterm and ill newborns compared to their counterparts in other European countries. Clinical practices and attitudes towards ethical decision-making appear to be influenced mainly by the Greek physicians’ values.

Keywords: intensive care; NICU; ethical decision-making; withholding; withdrawing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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